Foldable mobile device and method for manufacturing case for the same

ABSTRACT

In the present invention, a rear cover  1  of a display part is made of at least a resin material, and a rear cover  4  of an operation part is made of a metal material. Respective plane portions of a front case  2  of the display part and a front case  3  of the operation part are made mainly of a metal material, and at least hinge parts  2   c  and  3   c , which are formed on the front case  2  of the display part and the front case  3  of the operation part, are made of a resin material.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a foldable mobile device in which acase of a display part and a case of an operation part are connected viaa hinge part.

BACKGROUND ART

In the market for mobile devices of recent years typified by mobilephones and the like, foldable mobile devices in which the cases of adisplay part and the cases of an operation part are connected via hingeparts have become a main stream, and foldable mobile devices which areminiaturized and reduced in thickness are in high demand.

As a result, foldable mobile devices which are miniaturized and reducedin thickness are provided to the market one after another. However, whentrying to reduce the thickness of the device, developing an excellentdesign and mechanical strength is always an issue.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-154864 proposes applyingplating treatment that has high uniformity to cases that are made ofresin, which are used for low voltage product such as a mobile phone anda notebook type personal computer. In this art, the resin case is causedto adsorb a catalyst, a base metal is precipitated over the resin casein an electroless plating bath, the resin case is dipped into a platingbath obtained by adding an organic acid or organic acid salt such asacetic acid or nickel acetate to a nickel sulfamate bath or anickel-cobalt sulfamate bath, and nickel is electrolyticallyprecipitated so that the thickness of the plating film of nickel isabout 5 μm to 30 μm, whereby rigidity and hardness of the resin platingcan be enhanced by using nickel sulfamate for the plating bath.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

However, the above described related art has the following problem.

When the entire case is configured by a resin material, it becomesdifficult to secure sufficient mechanical strength, as the thickness ofthe foldable mobile device is reduced. When the entire case is made ofmetal, it is difficult to achieve unlimited design flexibility anddifficult to form complicated shapes in the parts, which are to befitted. Therefore, a thin foldable mobile device which is excellent indesign and secures mechanical strength cannot be provided. The problemsimilarly applies to the art disclosed in the above described JapanesePatent Laid-Open No. 2005-154864.

Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a foldable mobiledevice having an excellent design and reliable mechanical strength, anda method for manufacturing a case of the same.

In order to attain the above described object, a foldable mobile deviceof the present invention includes a case of a display part caseincluding a front case of the display part and a rear cover of thedisplay part, a case of an operation part including a front case of theoperation part and a rear cover of the operation part, and a hinge partconnecting the case of the display part and the case of the operationpart. The rear cover of the display part is made of at least a resinmaterial. The rear cover of the operation part is made of a metalmaterial. The front case of the display part and the front case of theoperation part are made of a composite material comprising a resin and ametal.

A method for manufacturing a case of a foldable mobile device accordingto the present invention is a method for manufacturing a case of afoldable mobile device including a case of a display part including afront case of the display part and a rear cover of the display part, acase of an operation part including a front case of the operation partand a rear cover of the operation part, and a hinge part connecting thecase of the display part and the case of the operation part, andincludes forming the rear cover of the display part of at least a resinmaterial, forming the rear cover of the operation part of a metalmaterial, and forming the front case of the display part and the frontcase of the operation part of a composite material comprising a resinand a metal.

According to the present invention, a foldable mobile device having anexcellent design and reliable mechanical strength can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a closed state in a foldable mobilephone of an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an opened state in the foldablemobile phone of the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a main component in thefoldable mobile phone of the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1 in theexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1 in theexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a closed state in a foldable mobilephone of an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a constitution of a rear cover of adisplay part in the exemplary embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment,the present invention is applied to a foldable mobile phone as anexample of foldable mobile devices, and for example, informationprocessing devices such as a PDA (Personal Data Assistant) and anotebook type personal computer are naturally included as examples offoldable mobile devices. Common parts in the respective drawings areassigned with the same reference numerals and characters.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a closed state in foldable mobilephone 12 of this exemplary embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective viewshowing an opened state in foldable mobile phone 12 of this exemplaryembodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, foldable mobile phone 12 is configured byincluding, for the case of a display part, rear cover 1 of a displaypart especially including many design elements and including sub displaypart 7, and front case 2 of the display part including main display part8 and hinge part 2 c, and for the case of an operation part, rear cover4 of the operation part including especially fewer design elements, andfront case 3 of the operation part including key operation part 10 andhinge part 3 c, as main components.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main components. FIG. 4 isa sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is asectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, front case 2 of the display part and frontcase 3 of the operation part are configured by sheet metal parts 2 a and3 a for the purpose of reducing thickness and obtaining reliablemechanical strength, and by resin parts 2 b and 3 b for the purpose offorming parts that have complicated shape and that are to be fitted,hinge parts 2 c and 3 c and the like to be fitted to rear cover 1 of thedisplay part and rear cover 4 of the operation part. Front case 2 of thedisplay part and front case 3 of the operation part are connected viahinge 5.

Printed board 9 mounted with electric components is provided in thedisplay part's case comprising rear cover 1 of the display part andfront case 2 of the display part. Printed board 11 mounted with electriccomponents is provided in the case of the operation part comprisingfront case 3 of the operation part and rear cover 4 of the operationpart.

In addition to printed board 9, antenna 6 is also provided in the caseof the display part comprising rear cover 1 of the display part andfront case 2 of the display part.

Next, the material composition of the case of foldable mobile phone 12of the exemplary embodiment will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, the case of the display part of foldable mobilephone 12 is comprised of rear cover 1 of the display part and front case2 of the display part.

Rear cover 1 of the display part is located facing the outside of thedevice, that is an exterior, when foldable mobile phone 12 is opened andclosed, and therefore, is a component in which excellence in design isespecially important and various outer design shapes are required.Therefore, a resin material from which various shapes are easily moldedis used for the material of rear cover 1 of the display part.

Front case 2 of the display part is a component that is required to havesuch mechanical strength that main display part 8 will not break,because main display part 8, which occupies most of the area of frontcase 2 of the display part, is disposed in it as shown in FIG. 2. Frontcase 2 of the display part is also a component which requires thatfitting portions that have complicated shapes be fitted to rear cover 1of the display part, a hinge portion mounted with hinge 5 and the likeare required.

Therefore, in front case 2 of the display part, a metal material thathas both sufficient mechanical strength and thickness is used as thematerial of sheet metal part 2 a holding main display part 8. Meanwhile,in front case 2 of the display part, a resin material which allowscomplicated shapes to be easily molded and size adjustment to be easilymade, is used as the material of resin part 2 b that forms a fittingpart and hinge part 2 c to which the hinge is mounted. Specifically, acomposite material formed of combination of a metal material and a resinmaterial used as the material of front case 2 of the display part.

The case of the operation part of foldable mobile phone 12 is comprisedof front case 3 of the operation part and rear cover 4 of the operationpart.

Rear cover 4 of the operation part is located facing the outside of thedevice, that is an exterior, when foldable mobile phone 12 is opened andclosed, but is located on a back surface of foldable mobile phone 12,and therefore, rear cover 4 of the operation part is a component inwhich excellence in design is relatively unimportant. Therefore, it isnot necessary that a plate sheet component have a complicated shape, andpriority is given to using materials for rear cover 4 of the operationpart that has reliable mechanical strength and sufficient thickness.

Front case 3 of the operation part is a component that whose mechanicalstrength is such that foldable mobile phone 12 is not broken when thereis a need to press the operation keys—this is because key operation part10, that occupies most of front case 3 of the operation part, isdisposed in it as shown in FIG. 2. Front case 3 of the operation part isalso a component which requires that complicated shapes be fitted torear cover 4 of the operation part, a hinge part to which hinge 5 ismounted and the like be mounted on the front case 3.

Therefore, in front case 3 of the operation part, a metal material hasboth sufficient mechanical strength and thinness is used as the materialfor sheet metal part 3 a holding key operation part 10. Meanwhile, infront case 3 of the operation part, a resin material, which allowscomplicated shapes to be easily molded and size adjustment to be easilymade, is used as the material of resin part 3 b that forms a fittingpart and hinge part 3 c to which the hinge is mounted. Specifically, acomposite material formed of combination of a metal material and a resinmaterial is used as the material of front case 3 of the operation part.

Next, based on the material composition of the case of foldable mobilephone 12 of the exemplary embodiment, a device configuration of foldablemobile phone 12 will be described in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, as one of the design elements, sub display part 7 isplaced on rear cover 1 of the display part, in which many designelements are required.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hinge part is configured by hinge part 2 c offront case 2 of the display part made of a resin material, on which maindisplay part 8 occupying most part of front case 2 of the display partis placed, and hinge part 3 c of front case 3 of the operation part madeof a resin material, in which key operation part 10 occupying most offront case 3 of the operation part is placed.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the thickness of sheet metal part 2 a offront case 2 of the display part, sheet metal part 3 a of front case 3of the operation part and rear cover 4 of the operation part, which aremade of a metal material, is reduced small, and thereby, the thicknessof foldable mobile phone 12 can be reduced. Further, due to thestructure surrounded by the metal material of sheet metal part 2 a offront case 2 of the display part, sheet metal part 3 a of front case 3of the operation part and rear cover 4 of the operation part, sufficientmechanical strength of foldable mobile phone 12 can be secured, andboard 9 disposed inside the case of the display part, and board 11disposed inside the case of the operation part are protected.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, antenna 6 is placed at a position coveredwith a resin material that is used in rear cover 1 of the display partand resin part 2 b of front case 2 of the display part, and sheet platepart 2 a of front case 2 of the display part, which interferes with thecharacteristics of the antenna, is configured to be disposed at acertain distance from the antenna 6.

According to the exemplary embodiment, the respective plane portions offront case 2 of the display part and front case 3 of the operation partare made mainly of a metal material, and rear cover 4 of the operationpart is made only of a metal material, whereby reduction in thickness,which cannot be achieved with a resin material, can be realized.Further, according to the exemplary embodiment, rear cover 1 of thedisplay part is made of a resin material that is the same as that of theconventional foldable mobile phone, and thereby, the same degree offreedom of design can be obtained. Further, according to the exemplaryembodiment, because, in particular, parts such as the fitting part andthe hinge part of the case, have complicated shapes and which is notrelated to the thickness of the device in front case 2 of the displaypart and front case 3 of the operation part are made of a resinmaterial, assemblability and disassemblability of the case can be keptthe same level of those of the conventional foldable mobile phone.Further, according to the exemplary embodiment, the main threecomponents that are front case 2 of the display part, front case 3 ofthe operation part and rear cover 4 of the operation part are configuredmainly by a metal material, and thereby, foldable mobile phone 12 havingsufficient mechanical strength can be provided.

Further, according to foldable mobile phone 12, the antenna part isdisposed in the portion that is comprised of rear cover 1 of the displaypart that is made only of a resin material and of resin part 2 b offront case 2 of the display part that is made of a resin material,whereby even when the antenna part is mounted in the device of thefoldable mobile phone, the antenna is not shielded with the metalmaterial, and degradation of the antenna characteristics can be avoided.

Further, in foldable mobile phone 12, rear cover 1 of the display partis made only of the resin material, and rear cover 4 of the operationpart is comprised of only the metal material, whereby a weightdifference occurs between rear cover 1 of the display part and rearcover 4 of the operation part. Therefore, in foldable mobile phone 12,in which the case of the operation part is handled for opening andclosing and the case of the operation part is usually held by hand, theopening and closing operations are facilitated by the weight of the caseof the display part being made relatively light. The holdability offoldable mobile phone 12 can be enhanced by making the weight of thecase of the operation part relatively heavy. Further, when foldablemobile phone 12 is in the opened state, the center of gravity is locatedin the case of the operation part. Therefore, when foldable mobile phone12 is placed on a desk or the like, the display part side will not falldown, and the state of the phone can be kept stable due to the case ofthe operation part and the desk being in close contact with each other.

Next, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. In the exemplary embodiment, a foldable mobile phone is alsoused as one example of a foldable mobile device, and the basicconfiguration is the same as that in the above described exemplaryembodiment. Therefore, redundant explanation will be omitted.

This exemplary embodiment differs from the above described exemplaryembodiment in the points that rear cover 1 of the display part offoldable mobile phone 12 is configured by only a metal material, andthat rear cover 1 of the display part is configured by a compositematerial in which a resin material and a metal material are combined.

First, when rear cover 1 of the display part is made only of a metalmaterial, there is the disadvantage that this limits the shape of thedesign, and the disadvantage that an antenna mounted inside a case madeof a metal will cause the antenna's characteristic to degrade, ascompared with the case in which rear cover 1 of the display part is madeof a resin material. Therefore, in many cases, the mounting position ofthe antenna needs to be located outside of the metal case instead ofinside of the case in order to that the characteristics of the antennawill no be influenced. However, when rear cover 1 of the display part ismade only of a metal material, the thickness of foldable mobile phone 12can be further reduced, and the mechanical strength can be furtherimproved.

Next, when rear cover 1 of the display part is configured by a compositematerial of a resin material and a metal material, processing of finedesign shapes cannot be applied to the metal material occupying mostpart of the design part, but the antenna can be mounted inside the case,and therefore, foldable mobile phone 12 can be configured to be thin.

One example of the configuration of foldable mobile phone 12 of theexemplary embodiment is shown in FIG. 6. Plate 14 that is made of ametal material and that is used as a decorative design part is fixed toa perimeter portion of sub display part 15 in rear cover 13 of thedisplay part that is constructed only of a resin material, and a result,a synergistic effect which combines excellence design and goodmechanical strength can be realized while maintaining a balance betweenthinness and weight in the foldable mobile phone 12. Case 16 of theoperation part is similarly made of combination of front case 3 of theoperation part and rear cover 4 of the operation part described in theprevious exemplary embodiment. Plate 14 that is made of the metalmaterial is a decorative design part that may be fitted into rear cover13 of the display part that is made only of a resin material as shown inFIG. 7.

The above described respective embodiments are exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention, and various modifications can be made within thescope without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Forexample, the present invention includes a method for manufacturing afoldable mobile device by forming rear cover 1 of the display part,front case 2 of the display part, front case 3 of the operation part,rear cover 4 of the operation part and the like from the respectivematerials in the above described respective embodiments.

1. A foldable mobile device, comprising: a case of a display partincluding a front case of said display part and a rear cover of saiddisplay part; a case of an operation part including a front case of saidoperation part and a rear cover of said operation part; and a hinge partconnecting said case of said display part and said case of saidoperation part, wherein said rear cover of said display part is made ofat least a resin material, said rear cover of said operation part ismade of a metal material, said front case of said display part formed ofa resin and a metal material, a planar portion of said front case ofsaid display part formed of only said metal material and surrounded on aperiphery of said planar portion by said resin, and said front case ofsaid operation part formed of said resin and said metal material, aplanar portion of said front case of said operation part formed of onlysaid metal material and surrounded on a periphery of said planar portionby said resin.
 2. A foldable mobile device, comprising: a case of adisplay part including a front case of said display part and a rearcover of said display part; a case of an operation part including afront case of said operation part and a rear cover of said operationpart; and hinge parts connecting said case of said display part and saidcase of said operation part, wherein said rear cover of said displaypart is made of at least a resin material, said rear cover of saidoperation part that is only made of a metal material, and respectiveplane portions of said front case of said display part and said frontcase of said operation part are made of only a metal material, and aperiphery of said respective plane portions including at least saidhinge parts formed on said front case of said display part and saidfront case of said operation part of a resin material.
 3. The foldablemobile device according to claim 1, wherein said rear cover of saiddisplay part is made of a composite material comprising a resin and ametal.
 4. The foldable mobile device according to claim 1, wherein anantenna part is disposed at portions that are made of a resin materialthat is used in said rear cover of said display part and said front caseof said display part.
 5. The foldable mobile device according to claim1, wherein said case of said display part is made relatively lighter inweight than said case of said operation part.
 6. The foldable mobiledevice according to claim 2, wherein said rear cover of said displaypart is made of a composite material comprising a resin and a metal. 7.The foldable mobile device according to claim 2, wherein an antenna partis disposed at portions that are made of a resin material that is usedin said rear cover of said display part and said front case of saiddisplay part.
 8. The foldable mobile device according to claim 2,wherein said case of said display part is made relatively lighter inweight than said case of said operation part.
 9. A method formanufacturing a case of a foldable mobile device comprising a case of adisplay part including a front case of said display part and a displaypart's rear cover, a case of an operation part including a front case ofan operation part and a rear cover of an operation part, and a hingepart connecting said case of said display part and said case of saidoperation part, comprising: forming said rear cover of said display partof at least a resin material; forming said rear cover of said operationpart of a metal material; forming said front case of said display partof a resin and a metal material, a planar portion of said front case ofsaid display part formed of only said metal material and surrounded on aperiphery of said planar portion by said resin, and forming said frontcase of said operation part of said resin and said metal material, aplanar portion of said front case of said operation part formed of onlysaid metal material and surrounded on a periphery of said planar portionby said resin.
 10. A method for manufacturing a case of a foldablemobile device comprising a case of a display part including a front caseof said display part and a rear cover of said display part, a case of anoperation part including a front case of said operation part and a rearcover of said operation part, and hinge parts connecting said case ofsaid display part and said case of said operation part, comprising:forming said rear cover of said display part of at least a resinmaterial; forming said rear cover of said operation part such that it isonly made of a metal material; and forming respective plane portions ofsaid front case of said display part and said front case of saidoperation part of only a metal material, and forming a periphery of saidrespective plane portions including said hinge parts on said front caseof said display part and said front case of said operation part of aresin material.
 11. The method for manufacturing a case of a foldablemobile device according to claim 9, wherein said rear cover of saiddisplay part is made of a composite material comprising of a resin and ametal.
 12. The method for manufacturing a case of a foldable mobiledevice according to claim 9, further comprising: disposing an antennapart at portions made of a resin material used in said rear cover ofsaid display part and in said front case of said display part.
 13. Themethod for manufacturing a case of a foldable mobile device according toclaim 9, wherein said case of said display part is formed to berelatively lighter in weight than said case of said operation part. 14.The method for manufacturing a case of a foldable mobile deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein said rear cover of said display part ismade of a composite material comprising of a resin and a metal.
 15. Themethod for manufacturing a case of a foldable mobile device according toclaim 10, further comprising: disposing an antenna part at portions madeof a resin material used in said rear cover of said display part and insaid front case of said display part.
 16. The method for manufacturing acase of a foldable mobile device according to claim 10, wherein saidcase of said display part is formed to be relatively lighter in weightthan said case of said operation part.